1st Birthday

Isabelle turned 1 yesterday!

She wasn't sure what to think when we were all singing "Happy Birthday" but by the very end of the song she let out a very small smile.

It was her first time of me giving her sugar
(not sure if the Grandma's have snuck some in with their time with her) :)

She didn't want to touch the cupcake with the frosting on top at first...
but eventually she got the hang of it.

Gift opening.

The kids were all so helpful.

She really just liked the tissue paper.

It is a Korean tradition to give gold for a baby's first birthday. This is her gold Korean coin.

I can't believe she is 1 already. Time went quickly this year. Before I know it she will be walking around & talking!

Mud Day!

Yesterday Dylan, Cadence & I went to mud mania at a park in Scottsdale. When we arrived they weren't so sure about getting in and getting dirty and were way more excited about the free stuff they could get from each marketing booth that was there. It was really funny to see them so excited to get their own bags and keep getting goodies for them.

This is them showing off their bags of stuff.

They day was also filled with lots of treats.

They finally got in & dirty...but it didn't last too long. I thought Dylan was going to love it but he was all stressed about getting so dirty...
When they were done in the mud, we played on the playground for awhile.

Yesterday evening we celebrated my mom's 60th birthday and Fathers Day at Mimi's Cafe with the family & friends.

and then headed over to my parents house for games...the girls won at Guesstures. Between my dad's acting skills and my sister mouthing all the words (not realizing it), it made for a entertaining night.

The next two pictures are from this afternoon. Cadence woke up not feeling so well but we still headed over to Mark's parents house to celebrate Fathers Day. We were almost home and Cadence said...mommy throw up. And about 30 seconds later it was everywhere, I was a half a second from reaching her with a barf bag. I don't usually have barf bags along with me but my mom had randomly given me one the other week and I had kept it in the car...I have to say that when she gave it to me I thought how strange but today I was thankful to have had it to catch round two.

Poor thing was a mess and didn't want the bag touching her.

And Dylan was not happy with the smell that quickly filled the car.

It has been a eventful last few days!

4 Years Old

Happy Birthday Lincoln.

Flowers

This morning I woke up to Dylan wanting to surprise me. He led me to the bathroom and to my surprise he had went outside and picked these branches from our lantana plant. :) He hadn't added water to the vase, so he pulled them out and then began to say, "I'm really sorry mom, but there is bird poop on some of them". I grinned at him and said "that's ok, we'll just wash it right off".

It really made me think. I loved the beauty but sometimes there is yuck. I've been more sad than normal lately about Lincoln. I love the memory of my son...but it also brings about a lot of yuck for me to process through. Sometimes, I just want the beauty.

The plant is one of the best bouquets I have even been given.

Information for Baby Shower

UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE

We will be in room #3213 at the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale. If you need directions or further information, please call me at 623-521-0212

Hope to see you soon.

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Baby Showers are for Girls?!

I'm so excited to meet Eli for the first time. I can’t wait to tell him how much we waited for this chapter to begin. I'll tell him how many people have prayed for his life I’ll share stories about the passion of his father and tenderness of his mother. I’ll talk about how his aunts and uncle will spoil him and how his grandparents are the steadiness in the storm. But before this moment begins, there is another moment.

Two weeks ago Jill asked me if I wanted to help with the baby shower. In my most testosterone embellished voice I said, “Baby showers are for girls”. Jill asks the question, “What if the baby shower is for guys and girls?” Then she says, “What about doing a shower where we don’t do all the games and just hang out? My ears perk up and my stance begins to adjust. I tell her to go on, the next details will be important. Jill talks about how the party will have swimming, eating, and just hanging out together. She tells me about a resort with ten swimming pools and a three story slide. She tells me how people will come from all over the valley to share in this open house & celebration. No schedule, no rules, just open space for us to love on our friends. I look at her and pronounce loudly, “baby showers were not just meant for girls, they were meant for all mankind!”

The Details: Join us in celebrating Eli's birth, we'll be having a open house style dinner & all the pools will be available for you to enjoy so make sure you bring your swimsuit. Since we won’t know which room we have until the day of the party, I’ll be updating the invite that afternoon or you can call or send a text to 623-521-0212 to find out where we are.

The purpose of the shower is to celebrate Eli's birth and also to be able to bless & relieve some of the financial burdens they will incur after Eli is born. Israel will be taking a significant amount of unpaid time off of work after Eli's birth for his surgery. We are hoping to be able to provide them some extra money for living expenses during this season...so instead of a baby boy gift we are asking that you would give a cash gift. Whatever is comfortable for you to give. Please RSVP on the invite so we know how much food we need.

Oh and by the way, they have no idea we have asked for this because they would never have accepted us giving them this shower. Our hope is they are blessed and are just able to focus on Eli.